There hasn't been much progress in the contract negotiations between Ryan Clady and the Broncos, but that could change soon. With the deadline to sign franchise players to multi-year deals looming, the Broncos will make a new offer to their franchise left tackle next week, according to a report from Pro Football Talk.
Denver and Clady resumed contract negotiations in June, but didn't come close to reaching a deal, according to the National Football Post. Clady's representatives were reportedly preparing a counter offer, which leads to Tuesday's report that Denver would make it's latest offer next week. If the two sides are going to come to terms, they will need to do so quickly as the deadline to sign franchised players to extensions is July 15. If there is no deal in place by the deadline, Clady would not be eligible to sign an extension until after the 2013 season.
Clady's health could be one reason for the delay as the 26-year-old is recovering from offseason shoulder surgery. He's proven to be one of, if not the best, left tackle in the the NFL, but Denver V.P. of football operations John Elway said ensuring Clady is healthy is an important aspect of the negotiations.
"I think we'll wait and see how that comes out," Elway said, via Pro Football Talk. "Obviously we don't want to jump right in because that's always, especially for a tackle, those shoulders are always tough and we'll see how he comes out of it. But we don't anticipate any problems with that. My understanding is the surgery went well and our training crew says that things look good so we don't anticipate any problems but we'll see how he comes out of it."
If the two sides do not agree to a deal by the July 15 deadline, Clady could opt to skip training camp and not report until the start of the regular season.
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